"The pen is my life. Its how I bleed the poisons that have built up within. Unique poetry and fiction is my goal."

Background
Information

Zurrell Loriez was born April 23, 1986 at Sinai Hospital to Darlene. D. Randolph. His mother and great grandmother, Dorothy Randolph, raised him along side the care of her husband, John Randolph, Sr.

Zurrell, in his fourteenth year, began to contemplate a story that would later be expressed in his passion for writing. However, that passion wouldn’t be expressed until his sixteenth year. During his eleventh grade year at Milford Mill Academy, Zurrell was expelled from school for hitting a teacher who tried to intervene in a confrontation between him and another student. This wouldn’t be the first time, however, because Zurrell had been through six different schools due to bad behavior, which in turn led to poor academic achievement. Zurrell attended two top schools during his grade school career: Sudbrook Magnet Middle School, and Carver Center of the Arts and Technology.

After being expelled form Milford Mill Academy, Zurrell’s mother couldn’t accept the path he was walking anymore, and on that night, Zurrell ran away from home. His grandparents, Shirley Randolph and Charles Jefferson, took him in and cared for him for an entire month. It’s here at his grandparent’s house—being away from the stress and having time to think—that Zurrell began work on his novel which was called at the time, Then and Now. Ironically, he began to type this manuscript on a computer that he’d given his grandparents before he ran away. Then and Now never left his grandparent’s house, however. When Zurrell’s mother accepted him back into her home, he totally scrapped the first and only chapter he’d finished and started from scratch back at home on his new computer.

At this time, being expelled from day school and attending night school, Zurrell had almost all day to type his novel. The result: Zurrell finished his novel in three and half short months, thus labeling the completion of his book during his sixteenth year. At the age of sixteen years old, Zurrell had finished a novel.

During his senior year, Zurrell was accepted back into Milford Mill Academy under the supervision of Nathaniel J. Gibson, the school principal. Mr. Gibson warned Zurrell that he had, “Only one more chance to slip up, and that’s it. I never want to see you in my office for anything negative, are we clear?” And Zurrell agreed to—what seemed at the time, given his history—an impossible demand. Ironically, Zurrell would appear in Mr. Gibson’s office in the middle of that year for something totally positive.

At the beginning of 2004, Zurrell went to Mr. Gibson to seek guidance on how to get published. When Zurrell arrived at Mr. Gibson’s office, Mr. Gibson asked him, “Can I help you? You’re one of my suspended students right?” And Zurrell said no. When Zurrell explained that he “was wondering if he [Mr. Gibson] might have some knowledge on publishing a book,” Mr. Gibson was shocked. From then on, Mr. Gibson took Zurrell under his wing, looking for publishing information and even purchasing ink for his printer at home.

Even though his book was complete, most of the major work of revision came during his time in school. Instead of telling everyone about what he’d done, Zurrell kept it to himself. Only a couple dozen people knew what he had done. At lunch time, instead of eating, Zurrell would look over and edit his printed manuscript. Later on that year, Zurrell started using the school library for more concentration. It was the school rule that someone must sign up in the morning to use the library during lunch, so Zurrell started arriving at school early to sign up.

Pamela King and Joquetta Johnson worked the library. They became concerned after seeing Zurrell in the library at the same time, at the same computer everyday. When they approached him and found him editing his book, they were amazed and quickly started to assist him. For the rest of that entire year, Zurrell spent at least twelve hours in the school library a week, tweaking and editing his book. While he edited the book, Pamela and Joquetta would answer his questions concerning book formats and editing, and even looking up information concerning publishing.

It is here that the book took on its final shape. The book’s subtitle, Nothing Good Lasts Forever, became the main title, while Then and Now took a back seat as the series title. Thus, the book was finally named Nothing Good Lasts Forever, which would be the first volume of Then and Now.

Zurrell is derived from the Hebrew word, Zuriel, which means “God is my Rock” or “God is my Foundation.” Although Zurrell completed his first novel when he was sixteen, his history of writing dates back to his seventh grade year when—due to some rapid changes in his life—became emotionally ill. It is at this point, that Zurrell’s true writing career began: with God. When he was twelve, instead of speaking his prayers verbally on his knees, he would type his prayers on the computer to better organize his thoughts and keep a record of his relations with God. His first prayer started with “Dear Jesus” and the following started with the non-Trinitarian “Dear God and Jesus”. The total amount of prayers he has written is phenomenal. If fully composed and combined together into a book, the prayers would have to fit at least three volumes and total around half a million words. To this day, only his close friend, Justin Walker, has viewed these prayers.

Zurrell Loriez submitted a sample of his book to a traditional publisher and, after seven days, they sent him a contract, extending him the opportunity to become published. Due to the harsh terms of the contract and the illegitimate standing of the publisher, Zurrell declined the offer. Knowing now that a traditional publisher was willing to sign him, he had gained confidence in his work.

In December 2004, Zurrell received five hundred dollars from his mother to publish his own work so he could retain the rights to it. After submitting his work to Iuniverse, a subsidiary of Barnes and Noble, Nothing Good Lasts Forever was released in February 2005.

In Nothing Good Lasts Forever, Mya—by fate—becomes the princess of a post-United States empire that emerged from the ashes of an unprecedented civil war. That same fate causes her to lose the only thing that ever mattered to her: Her childhood lover who mysteriously vanished after they were taken captive in the war. He is thought to be dead, but Mya is ultimately forced to rethink the fate of her lost lover when her kingdom is attacked by a mysterious rebel group, whose rumored name is SERENITY.

Zurrell Loriez is twenty-one years old now and is working on both the sequel and prequel to his first novel. He also has another poetry book planned for release sometime soon.